Welcome to Semarang , on the island of Java, where 55% of the 140 million of all Indonesians live. A lively mélange of Buddhist and Hindu, Chinese and Dutch traditions is reflected in its architecture, with colonial structures and religious temples vying for your attention.
Semarang is also the convenient gateway to the Buddhist temple of BOROBUDOR, a World Heritage Site, and the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Constructed between 778 and 856, over two million cubic feet of carefully carved stone was used, soon after it was abandoned and later covered with volcanic ash which now has been painstakingly removed and now welcomes millions a visitors annually. Larger by virtue that it is a single building, to me it did not impress me like my visit to Ankgor Wat in Cambodia or Machu Picchu in Peru, both made up of several structures into massive architectural complexes.
After a lengthy day of slow travel in extremely hot and humid conditions, we will now be at sea for two days. Having crossed the Equator southbound, we now head on a northerly course to return once again to the Northern Hemisphere.to end of our cruise in Singapore.